Well, Samus' characterization in Other M surprised people to put it lightly.

The thing is, no Metroid title before it got serious about characterizing Samus, only showing some small gestures and such. Small as they were, people did make a picture of her character, some more concrete than others, sure.

OK, this is not about griping about Samus' characterization in Other M. Just answer the topic title.

Metroid Fusion was my first Metroid game. I'm sure it's easy enough to recall the intro. The soundtrack for Sector 1 plays and Samus monologues as the prologue unfolds. I was able to pinpoint that this intro may have been the prime source for what shaped the way I look at Samus. I guess it's not surprising when the proverb "first impressions are very important" comes to mind. I think what I did at that point was tie the SRX theme to Samus.

Because of the intro and the music that went with it, I ultimately see Samus as someone with a no-nonsense kind of attitude who gets things done with a calm resolve. Her monologues in the intro were pretty brief and to the point so I think of her as someone who gets bored of small talk. (There's a good chance that removing one sentence from the intro will leave a plot hole behind)

Anyway, listen to the Sector 1 SRX theme or look at Fusion's intro and you'll get what I mean.

A cold, distant soldier with a conscience. Someone who looked out for herself and was willing to do unpleasant jobs, but only if they lined up with her moral code. Certainly not the superhero Nintendo now attempts to pait her as, but someone more in the gray area of things.

yodanut wrote:A cold, distant soldier with a conscience. Someone who looked out for herself and was willing to do unpleasant jobs, but only if they lined up with her moral code. Certainly not the superhero Nintendo now attempts to pait her as, but someone more in the gray area of things.

I always thought Samus did jobs for the better of the universe, not for herself (not saying she doesn't take care of herself, tho)

"Of course, missiles are off-limits." -Samus Aran"The last Metroid is in captivity, the Galaxy is at peace..." -Dan Owsen"Metroids are not pets. Metroids are not target practice." -Space Pirate Logs

I always had this crazy idea that Samus was a bounty hunter. No clue where it came from, but it stuck. I'll admit that my knowledge, at the time (90's), of bounty hunting was limited, mostly to Star Wars and Cowboy Bebop, so I wound up imagining her as somthing of a cross between Boba Fett and Spike Spiegel: Ultimately in it for the money but following her own moral standing, able to kick your ass in a multitude of ways, deadly serious when she needs to be and relaxed when she doesn't.

This image (or an image) of Samus as an actual bounty hunter makes more sence than the "pro-bono" hunter image Nintendo wants to portray. Come to think of it, she acts more like a mercenary then a bounty hunter. She's never actually paid to take out a specific target, she's instead employed more like a special forces opperative.

If you were to go solely by Other M, Samus would more likely be something along the lines of a very well-armed, highly-trained, good Samaritan.

To answer the topic question: I never really thought about Samus' personality in any game prior to Fusion or the manga. She was always just the chick in the power suit traversing the Universe and killing more alien lifeforms in each installment of the franchise. Nothing more, nothing less. There just wasn't enough to go on in any of the first 3 games (or even Prime) to establish any sort of personality other than what our playstyle was. If we were to go by how I played each of the first three games of the franchise, then it would look something like this:

OG Metroid - Samus is in a world that is all too familiar, but all too alien, and everything is out to kill her. Not only that, but she's tremendously weak and seemingly under-prepared for this mission, as everything can kill her with relative ease. The defeat of Mother Brain is a tremendous win in terms of completing the seemingly-impossible mission and being a personal accomplishment.

RoS - Samus is in a very alien environment this time, exploring a planet that was seemingly abandoned by her long-time caretakers, the Chozo, a long time ago. She's more prepared for this mission than she was for the last one, but the circumstances have her more afraid here than on Zebes. She is in constant fear that she will run into another Metroid at a later stage of life at an inopportune time. Every new variety of Metroid she encounters sends chills down her spine, leaving her to wonder just what horrors the next stage will offer. Killing the Queen is a triumphant moment in Samus' life, as she has finally the rid the Universe of the Metroid menace... that is, until she encounters the single, unhatched egg. No matter what she does, she just can't shoot the newborn Metroid, so she might as well bring it along. And what a good idea it was, because it ends up being able to nom-nom the diamond structures that block the path her ship, leaving her indebted and thankful to the baby Metroid.

Super - Samus recaps her first two missions and talks about the fate of the baby Metroid that helped her on SR388. Upon returning to Ceres station, she notices that something is awry. The only people she can find are dead, and the Metroid is missing. She then encounters Ridley (fleeing with the Metroid), only to be completely dominated by him due to his rejuvenated state and her still being in recovery from the SR388 mission. She quickly follows him back to Zebes and finds the place different yet again, though oddly desolate at first. As she works her way through the labyrinth that is Zebes, she finds herself toppling the largest threats she has ever encountered with a cool head and an arm full of instant death. Upon finding the broken containment jar, she is filled with bewilderment. Where is the Metroid? Is it somewhere in Norfair? Is it dead? Is it somewhere in the depths of Maridia, where all those Mochtroids were found? She quickly learns of its location in new Tourian when it brings her to within an inch of death, something of which it asks forgiveness for by giving its life to Samus during her penultimate battle with Mother Brainasaurus. She wants to mourn the death of the little death machine, but doesn't have time to because she still has to kill off the brain of her existence. Once the brain is dead for good, Samus narrowly escapes the planet (aiding some innocent critters along the way), and finds the time to finally mourn the death of the baby Metroid that saved her life. This was her most spectacular mission to date, but also the one she was the most prepared for. The experience of her prior two missions fared her well. This mission, as final as it seemed, left her wanting more.

Ok, yeah, that was a lot longer than I expected it to be, but it sums the pre-Fusion/Prime Samus up pretty well in my book. She's the chick that takes things as they come and often ignores the concept of "the consequences of her actions."

I thought Samus was like Batman. A strong willed character formed by a tragic past, having the goal to prevent others from living the same thing. Also I thought she had an internal struggle to justify her violent actions, as if she makes them out of vengeance, survival, or to achieve a good willed goal.

Pretty much just as they presented her in Other M... Cold, distant/detached, quiet, scarred, confident in her abilities as a warrior, a desire to help and protect others, emotional when it comes to things like Adam, the baby metroid, etc.

She seems to like animals when they're not trying to scratch her. Eh, we don't know if Samus herself would kill anything that moves into her line of sight. Eh, although creatures in Metroid have next to no sense of self-preservation.

Cares about others more than herself, confident that she was capable of overcoming any obstacle, mentally flexible so she could change tactics or adapt to almost any situation, mentally stressed because of how she had so many responsibilities and so many people had lost their lives seemingly because of or for her... come to think of it, one could assume she was very unstable as well. Anyone whose had a horrible day knows how easy it can be to snap and either go to crying out in anguish or in outrage. Considering that Samus' entire life was like that, it could've been that other m was her anguish, and perhaps in the next game we'd be shown her Dread and her rage about what has happened to herSorry, that was a bit more in depth of an analysis than I expected I would put for my response

"Writing is easy. You just stare at a blank page until your forehead starts to bleed." - Douglas Adams

The way I perceived her was what I saw through Metroid Fusion, Prime 3 Corruption, and the Manga. In Fusion she seemed rather hot headed, in Corruption she came across as rather stoic and proud (the "proud" part coming from how she stands on the lift into her ship when you're about to save), yet selfless and caring deeply for what happened to others, such as the other hunters and even the deceased Marines in Echoes, but also somewhat lonely and brooding. The Manga showed her vulnerable side, dealing with the traumatic experience relating the murder of her parents, and the destruction of her home.

Everyone has their own perception of Samus, and that was mine. Other M seemed to bring these together, and personally, I didn't have one problem with her portrayal, it's close to the same thing I saw in the Manga, and didn't seem very different at all to me.

Vonter wrote:I thought Samus was like Batman. A strong willed character formed by a tragic past, having the goal to prevent others from living the same thing. Also I thought she had an internal struggle to justify her violent actions, as if she makes them out of vengeance, survival, or to achieve a good willed goal.

This. Strong, intelligent, and independent. The Prime scans always made me think she had a slight bent towards the sciences, but I might just be imbuing her with my own interests. And older- maybe in her late 20's or early 30's. Also, less concerned with her appearance. I would've never pictured her with heels, and in Other M she looks like she's wearing make-up.

The latest games seem to put her in her early 20's. The only area where Other M clashed with this was her weird dependence on Adam for affirmation, particularly wanting to go for "redemption" after the Ian flashback. I just sort of ignored that part. You're a big girl, Samus- I think everyone's past that. And if they aren't, you're freaking Samus Aran. They can go suck an egg. An egg that is actually a power bomb.

In regards to wantonly killing everything... unless it's a key boss or locked door, you're rarely required to kill everything in your way. I know in Prime and the other games I usually just ran through the room, especially if I was in a hurry.

I love that comic, btw.

Satch wrote:What does she think Metroid is? A porno? Does she know it's Alien with Crayola crayons?

*Blunt and to-the-point when socializing. Only shows respect to people she feels deserve it, like Admiral Dane or Adam (before Other M went and made him a douche).

*Dislikes computers, especially when they talk back (namely her early interactions with ADAM in Fusion)

*Confident in her ability to improvise under pressure, such as using her Grappling Beam as a conduit to cook Draygon when it grabs her.

*Has a sort of subdued sort of humor, such as dropping ice-spikes on Aeropirates in the Phendrana Caves.

*Can be a bit of a show-off, such as when she defeats Quadraxis in MP2 and strikes a pose as its head explodes behind her.

*Values her freedom; dislikes being restrained by rules and orders (hench why she left the Feds to go freelance).

*Doesn't care much for the Federation, but tolerates it since it's the best government the galaxy's got (for now).

*Respects the Chozo for all they've done for her in the past, but doesn't agree with everything they've taught her. Samus refuses to accept their beliefs that ancient prophecies are guiding her actions, as she prefers to control her own destiny.

*Hates Space Pirates, plain and simple. Sees Ridley as both a specter of her painful past and a reminder of her self-proclaimed duty that she will never let others suffer like she did at Pirate hands.

= Ultimate Warrior = Ultimate Warrior Therefore, =

Now you know why they call it Metroid.

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This is the song, written for the chase scene!This is the song, Samus and James!He tri-ied to kill me with a forklift! (Ole!)